By Darkest Day
by shortcookie73
Summary: Centuries have passed, people have died, but one has remained the same. One girl cursed with immortality who is only existing, not living. It turns out that going back to the place of her troubled past is just where she needs to be. It is where it all begins. Definite Faberry, Brittana! Other things that may come along!
1. Prologue

_**Author's Note: Hello everyone! I have had this fic in my mind for awhile, and I've finally decided to write it/publish it here. Although this fic is very much inspired from the Vampire Diaries, it will not follow the series exactly. My own major plot twist will be put into it. It would be boring otherwise, right? **_

_**I do not own Glee or The Vampire Diaries.**_

_**Enjoy! Please review if you can. Not for my ego, but just so you all can let me know what you like and whatnot. It helps with further chapters. I won't lie and say that it doesn't feel nice too though. We all know it does.**_

_Lima, OH 1813. _

It was the year 1813, and it was the ten year anniversary of the founding of Lima, OH. The most prestigious family of the founding families, the Fabray family, was once again throwing their annual Founder's Ball. Although the atmosphere was meant to be one filled with the usual celebration and cheer, there was a dark cloud over everyone's heads this year.

Lima was a small town filled with good people. It was one of those places where everyone knew everyone else and news spread faster than the blink of an eye. Everything was going well in the town until just a few months ago. The change in events caused the town to be plagued by unexplainable deaths and rising suspicions from the founders and the townspeople. The founding families attempted to cover up the deaths as simply wild animal attacks, but some new better. Some paid extra close attention to detail and knew that a body being drained completely of it's blood was no animal's doing.

It was because of these details that the six founding families felt the need to jump into action. They knew something needed to be done and quickly before more innocent lives were lost. Immediately they thought of their own children and shivered and the involuntary mental image of one of them being the beasts' next victim.

Three of the families had migrated to Lima from Salem, MA, the union that had become famous due to the Salem Witch Trials in the late 1600s. Of course, all of the men and women that were in Lima were too young to have been present for the events, but each one of them knew the tales. The Fabray, Evans, and Nelson families each knew that although the union of Massachusetts had released some information about the events that occurred all those years ago, there were still facts that were left unspoken. Witchcraft seemed like the lesser of two evils, so the people allowed the news travel, but kept the mention of Vampires close to their hearts. It was never spoken outside of hushed whispers, but it was known to many. The situation was handled quietly. Some vampires were staked through the heart others were burned until the deaths ceased.

Lima, OH was now faced with the same problem, no infestation that Massachusetts had been subjected to. Every adult member of the founding family had a duty to protect the people of Lima, OH no matter whom or what against. Their meeting adjourned with a silent promise. No one else would know of their pact, and they would do whatever necessary to protect their own.

That initial meeting was months ago by the time the Founder's Ball arrived. The tension in the air was present, but still everyone went along as if nothing was wrong. The gentlemen in their suits leading and dancing with their wives who looked elegant in their corset dresses. The founding families' children were now nearly adults themselves and were making their first entrance into adult society.

The moment Jesse St. James arrived with Rachel Nelson on his arm, the attention slowly shifted. Richard Nelson on the outside appeared as calm as ever, but within, he was being torn apart. He didn't understand how his daughter didn't see that the man she was with was no man at all, but a monster instead. His efforts to attempt to warn his daughter away from the young man fell upon deaf ears, and now he was left with no choice. Either way things went, his daughter was in danger. In his mind, he would rather lose her by his own hand than by her becoming one of _them_.

The night went on without a hitch. Appearances were being maintained which was of the utmost importance. No one could know what was occurring beneath their very noses.

William Fabray walked over to his old friend Richard and handed him a glass of whiskey. "Have you done what has been asked of you?"

Richard threw back the glass and allowed the whole contents to burn his throat. The feeling was a good distraction from the bile that was building in his stomach. "I handed her a glass of wine with a mixture of rosemary. If your source is correct, then when he bites into…" Not being able to say the name that he himself had picked, Richard simply continued. "Things should go accordingly." With a nod William walked away and left the man to his mourning.

At around nine in the evening, Jesse led Rachel outback through claiming that he desired to take a walk. Seeing that it was in fact a beautiful night, the brunette agreed. Everything seemed normal. They were chatting and laughing carelessly. In Rachel's mind there couldn't have been a more splendid end to a wonderful evening.

When they reached a spot that looked out onto the farming land of the Fabray Plantation, Jesse turned towards Rachel and placed a ring upon her finger. While clasping her hand, Jesse looked deep into her brown eyes and asked the most simple of questions. "Rachel, do you trust me?"

Without a second thought, Rachel quickly replied. "Of course I do, why do you…" Before she could finish her though, Jesse moved with a speed she had never seen and bite into her neck. What he was not expecting was for her body to have ingested Rosemary. Almost as quickly as it had all began, the vampire collapsed onto his knees with Rachel unconscious in his arms. His hearing picked up the sounds of men heading towards them, and he knew that he didn't have much time. With whatever little strength he had within in, Jesse ripped off the sleeve of his long sleeved shirt and bit into his arm. The moment the blood began to gush from the wound, he placed it to Rachel's mouth.

In that moment, a gunshot rang out through the air, and Jesse looked up to see a drunken Richard Nelson holding a shotgun with tears running down his face. Not feeling any pain coming from himself, St. James looked down to see a gunshot wound clearly in Rachel's chest. Rage quickly overtook his body at the sight of the girl he truly loved being hurt. In the blink of an eye, Jesse tried to run towards the Richard Nelson, but the Rosemary had weakened him too much. By the time he was standing, William Fabray was already stabbing a stake through his heart. In a split second, an eternity with the girl he loved was ripped from his grasps. His last thought before his body turned to ashes was him hoping that they thought Rachel was dead. She was too good, too perfect to be ripped from this world just yet.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Author's Notes: First off, I would like to send out a big thank you to all of you who have shown interest in this fic through follows, favorites, or reviews. Each one of them means a lot and are definitely appreciated! **_

_**Secondly, I would like to send a huge shout out and thank you to my amazing Beta, chichitehahh. If you guys want another great fic to get started on then go check out hers. A Slow Dance With Reality really is worth looking into! It's great! **_

_**Okay, I'll shut up now and let you get on to reading. I hope you enjoy this chapter! **_

_Lima, OH 2011 _

.It's been so many years since she had been in Lima. The town holds so many secrets and so much of her past. Both things Rachel has spent so much time running from. Now, she was in a bedroom with light yellow walls attempting to pick out an outfit for her first day of school. Her eyes momentarily scanned the room that held very little personal possessions. Her room mostly consisted of clothes, a picture of Jesse, and a few posters of Broadway plays she loves.

Just the thought of Broadway brought a smile to Rachel's lips. The smile is bittersweet though. It's the smile of a girl who has found her passion but can never live it. Surely people would realize that she never seems to age. The gift of immortality that she possesses feeling like a prison stopping her from truly living. There are things she will never experience because she is frozen at the age of seventeen. Luckily, people have started to live longer and age less quickly as time has passed, but still, the longest Rachel can stay in one place is eight years.

Now, she was about to start another high school. She was going in as a junior because she could not bear to go through the mundane material of freshman and sophomore year once again. As soon as she decided on a nice grey skirt, white button up, and a pair of flats, she was heading out of her room and down the stairs.

Noticing that her own internal ramblings had put her behind schedule, Rachel made a bee line for the door, but was stopped by Leroy's booming voice. "Honey, you know you have to eat something. It wouldn't be good for your hunger to start up on your first day."

At that moment, Hiram decided to join in as he walked down the stairs attempting to tie up his tie. "Yes dear," he started off with a chuckle, "I really would hate to be called into the school because you decided to make a buffet of the cafeteria."

Rachel rolled her eyes at their antics. Although her birth parents had died long ago, the men before the brunette acted more like her parents than her actual ones ever did. All those years ago when Jesse had turned Rachel, her father had believed she was simply dead. He choose that moment to show her compassion. The idea of it almost made her laugh since he initially used his own daughter as bait.

Shaking her head from those memories, Rachel grabbed the mug Leroy placed on the kitchen island. To any mere human, it would look like she was just drinking coffee or some other beverage. The thought of it being blood from a donor package would never cross their mind. However, the warm liquid was necessary for her to placate the beast deep within her. Rachel licked her lips clean when she finished and then immediately laughed a the scene in front of her. Hiram was standing with a pout on his face while Leroy fixed his tie. Apparently, over two centuries of experience could not help him.

Rachel darted out of the house before Hiram could scold her for laughing at his expense, but not before she returned the wink that Leroy had sent her. Inside her car, the brunette listened to some Broadway classics to entertain her mind, although it was already buzzing. There was nothing intimidating about another year of high school, but for some reason Rachel couldn't shake the feeling that the upcoming year was going to be different. It was an odd feeling for a vampire who has lived for so long and seen many things in her time.

She couldn't dwell on the feeling for long though; Living in a small town meant that everything was at most ten minutes away, so before long, Rachel was parking in the McKinley parking lot. Once she stepped into the building, the front office was simple enough to find. Most high schools had the same layout when someone's been to enough of them. As soon as the petite brunette grabbed her paperwork, she was back in the hallway, the only difference was that the second time she felt like a goldfish in a very small fish tank. Rachel knew that she was the new girl in a small town, but the amount of attention she was getting was bordering on ridiculous.

Due to her enhanced senses, she could hear every one of the students' whispers. The vampire paid them no mind as she walked to her locker. She knew that if she reacted that it would last longer than necessary. Even though she knew that her beauty was enhanced in order to lure people in to her, Rachel still believed she was just like everyone else. Of course, she would not recommend another human getting into a scuffle with her, but when it came to only appearances, she did not see the big deal. As she was putting away some of her school supplies, she sensed someone approach her from behind.

"What's up, babe?" He asked in what Rachel guessed was supposed to be his sexy tone. "How about you let the Puckosaurus show you around? I'll tell you all you need to know." Rachel turned around to acknowledge him and was shocked to see that the boy was no all that bad. She was sure that his whole bad boy persona was supposed to make her want to follow him into the nearest janitor's closet, but after falling for a vampire in her lifetime, the whole bad boy act lost it's appeal.

Nonetheless, Rachel was never a fan of burning bridges automatically. She did have two years in the school. She might as well make the best of it. "Hello," she greeted him once she closed her locker. "I would very much like to take you up on your offer, but first, I am going to need you to tell me your name. I am positive that whatever you just called yourself cannot be it."

The boy's face morphed into one of confusion which Rachel knew was the most likely caused by her way of speaking. The brunette knew that her speech was peculiar to many people, but she refused to lower herself to the standard of English that children deemed to be "cool." The fact that she has stopped lecturing them about it should be considered enough of an improvement. The sound of the boy's deep voice brought her attention back to the matter at hand. "Uh… the name's Noah Puckerman, but everyone calls me Puck. Noah isn't a name for a badass like me."

Rachel fought the urge to laugh at the boy. She was pretty positive he tried to flex his muscles as he said that last sentence as well. Oh, the things girls fell for these days. "Well, I always aim to be someone who is unique, so I will be calling you Noah. My name is Rachel Berry. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Just as she was about to offer him her hand to shake, Rachel's ears picked up on the double doors open at the end of the hall, and the other students' gossiping switching to something else entirely. Rachel could not see anything at first. All she saw was that the students were parting the hallway like the red sea. It wasn't until a blonde beauty walked past her that Rachel realized just what they were all gapping at. The look the girl gave Rachel was one completely predatory, and it took a lot to make a vampire nearly swallow from discomfort. That eyebrow arch the girl had held some respect behind it.

Puck leaned down so he was right next to the brunette's ear. "Well, Rachel. Lesson numero wah, that's Quinn Fabray. She's the head bitch in charge. I wouldn't mess with her unless you were me, a cheerio, or stupid."

Rachel only nodded in reply to Puck's words which caused him to laugh. He put his arm around the brunette, snatched her schedule out of her hand, and lead the way to what she hoped was her first period. She would've scolded him on his lack of manners if she wasn't solely focused on a certain blonde. A blonde who just happened to have the same last name as the founding father who was part of the plan all those years ago. Well, the school year was going to be interesting indeed.


	3. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note: Well, here you have it! A Quinn based chapter with some Faberry interactions! I know as a reader of faberry fics myself, this is what we all get excited to see. So, I hope the piece of the puzzle you all get now is a good one. I do promise you all faberry, but it will not be a fast paced progression. Both girls have a lot they need to work out, and I am a huge fan of character building, so have patience with me. I will reward you! I promise. **_

_**As for the rest of the fic, the drama and big plot will reveal itself down the road. I just want to introduce all the main characters and give you all a solid foundation for the story. Thank you all for your interest and boosts of encouragement! **_

This was her year. This was her chance to get everything back. Quinn's entire summer was spent working out, dieting, and perfecting the moves to old cheerio routines. She did everything and anything she could to occupy her time from thinking about the baby.

The blonde's theory was that if things went back to normal, then she would feel happy again. Well, she would at least feel something. Something instead of the empty feeling that consumed her since Regionals. Quinn needed some semblance of normal to return to her life, and school was the only place where she would get that. Her home life was shot to hell after all. Sure, her mother was trying to make things better, but all Quinn could think of was the day her mother stood by and did nothing. The day her mother chose ignorance over courage. They had a long way until they could get better, so for now, Quinn went with the one thing that she figured would be easy to fix, her reputation.

Getting her spot back on the cheerios was easy enough. The moment Quinn had spotted Santana Lopez near the end of summer vacation, the solution was quite literally right before her eyes. How did her alleged best friend think that she was going to explain her boobs going up at least a whole size the summer before junior year?

As soon as Sue discovered that her head cheerio had a self esteem issue, she demoted her to the bottom of the pyramid. That action left her with no other choice than to reinstate Quinn as her head cheerio. No one else in that school had the leadership skills that the blonde did besides Santana, and Sylvester knew it. Although, continuously being compared to a young Sue Sylvester without the impeccable cheek bones was disturbing, it was a small price to pay for her red and white suit of armor.

The students parted for her like the red sea once again, but the feeling of empowerment didn't feel as gratifying as it once did. For the first time, Quinn could see the look of fear in her peer's eyes. How had she not noticed them before? Even her own glee teammates looked as if the devil or something equivalent had returned, and that hurt more than she ever imagined it would. Well, at least it was feeling.

That feeling was soon followed by an actual physical feeling of pain. Her body was shoved hard into the row of lockers to her right and immediately she knew who the culprit was. There was only one person who would be courageous enough to shove her, and that would be none other than Santana Lopez.

Although a small part of her felt bad for selling out a girl that used to be considered one of her best friends, the remorse was nothing compared to the pain she felt when she thought of what a horrible best friend the Latina was. Where was her best friend months ago? Where was Santana when she was pregnant, homeless, and completely miserable? Oh yeah, she was out spreading rumors about the paternity of said pregnancy and calling her tubbers for seven months. Yes, Quinn hadn't been the award winning best friend previously either, but what she went through went far beyond sleeping with your friend's boyfriend. Quinn had nothing, and Santana didn't even seem to care.

So, when Quinn grabbed the back of Santana's pony and pulled as hard as she could, there was only one word going through her mind, vengeance. It wasn't long before Mr. Schuester came along to try and break both girls up. The blonde wasn't finished. She was determined to show Santana who ruled, who the true HBIC was, but before she could, a strong yet gentle pair of hands wrapped around her waist from behind and lifted her off the ground and away from the scene. She figured that it had to be Puck or Mike since they were the only two guys Quinn knew who would step in and were strong enough to hold back the furious blonde.

The only thing the blonde could do was scream the first command that came to her mind. "Walk away! And tighten up your pony before you get to class!"

Quinn was still too angry to even realize that the person was still walking while carrying the blonde to some unknown destination. Looking down at the hands for a brief second, all the cheerio registered was tan skin which caused her to roll her eyes in exasperation. He was the last person she wanted to deal with right now. "Puck, you can put me down now. It's not like I'm going to chase her into Mrs. Fletcher's class and start a fight again."

Silence. That is all the blonde was met with. The person whom she assumed was Puck just continued walking until they were inside the bathroom at the end of the hall. It was a bathroom that was rarely ever used. "What are you.." but before Quinn could finish her thought, she was being placed down. Now annoyed on top of being angry, the cheerio quickly turned around to give the buffoon a piece of her mind, but all of her actions stopped when she was met with someone else entirely.

Words were now difficult for Quinn to find as she stared at the tan girl before her. Well, not exactly, but the words beautiful, stunning, and mysterious were not ones that the blonde could outright say.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you or anything of the sort. I just saw how angry you were and figured that you would need a quiet place to calm down before continuing on with your schedule."

_Okay who speaks like that_, was the first thought that popped into Quinn's mind. She was fairly positive that only grandmothers, hell, maybe even great grandmothers were the only people who still spoke that way. Then the curiosity as to how a girl of her size was able to lift the cheerio off the ground and carry her a decent distance dawned on her. All of that was then once again followed with the word mysterious. At first Quinn was going to go into her previous HBIC mode with her hands on her hips and a perfectly sculpted arched eyebrow in place, but then it dawned on her. The entire time she had been in there with the new girl, she hadn't felt completely empty. Her previous emotions of loneliness were replaced with feelings of intrigue.

This girl could provide Quinn with a new opportunity. The brunette wasn't someone who had expectations for her or knew her as the pregnant girl who gave up her baby. It was a clean slate. "And you are?"

The brunette giggled which was most likely the most melodious sound Quinn had ever heard. "I apologize. We haven't been properly introduced." The brunette then extended her hand before saying, "I'm Rachel Berry."

This time Quinn did arch an eyebrow as she eyed the outstretched hand. Teenagers were never this formal, but the blonde decided to give in. Maybe the girl was home schooled before coming to McKinley. "I'm Quinn Fabray."

They shook hands briefly before the brunette released her hold. "I know."

A silence spread over the two of them, but it didn't feel awkward like Quinn would expect it to. It was one of those quiets that she experienced in the company of a beautifully well written book.

"We're late for class. AP European History, right?"

"You're in my class?"

"Yes."

Quinn was sure the brunette's small laugh was somehow going to be the only thing she would want to hear all year. "Great," Quinn said with a groan as she checked her high ponytail in the mirror. "Mr. Peterson is known for his killer exams."

Rachel walked past the blonde and held open the bathroom door. As Quinn nodded her head in thanks and walked ahead, she heard Rachel speak one last time.

"Luckily for you, I've already taken this class."

And with that, Rachel walked into the classroom and sat in the very front. The HBIC had no idea why, but she wanted to know that girl. Maybe it was just her wanting a distraction, or for once wanting a real friend. She didn't know the answer to the why exactly. All she knew was that Rachel Berry made her feel something again, and that was all Quinn wanted.


	4. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note: Once again, thank you to all of you who follow, favorite, and review my story! It means so much to me. It's always nice to have your work praised and to have support behind what you're doing. **_

_**Lastly, this week is going to be a little rough for me, but after Monday, I will have lots of time on my hands. This doesn't mean I won't update until after that. I just might be slower and wanted to give you a heads up. **_

The first week of school flew by without incident. Rachel found that most of her classes were extremely simple, and more than once wondered about the quality of the teachers at McKinley. There was one woman in particular who Rachel was positive should not be within a hundred feet of children, but everyone just ignored her behavior as if it were normal. How shoving students and being obsessed with a man's hair was normal was beyond the brunette, but she just went along.

It was obvious the first day that the school ran off of the very old and predictable high school hierarchy. Although Rachel found the whole thing to be trivial, she used it to her advantage. The system made it easy for her to go unnoticed, or so she thought.

While she was at her locker, Rachel felt a shift in the hallway. The students went from being their usual loud volume to oddly quiet. Her focus on the strange phenomenon almost caused her to become a victim of an incredibly immature prank. Luckily, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up which caused the brunette to quickly move to the right. Within a second, a cold, colored liquid came into contact with the front of her locker. It took everything within Rachel to stop herself from growling and crouching down into a fighting stance.

Rachel controlled the monster inside of her by closing her eyes and taking deep breaths. To the rest of the students, it appeared like the brunette was just calming herself down after such a close call. They were completely oblivious to the fact that Rachel nearly tore the stupid jock apart. She didn't even have a chance to reply o his promise of getting her next time before he walked away. She will never get hit by one of those icy beverages, but if she had tried to speak, her fangs would have been in full view.

Within minutes, another person was quickly approaching. Reigning in her turbulent emotions, Rachel turned around and gave the best smile she could muster. What she was met with was a hand being slammed on the locker near her head and the face of a very angry looking cheerleader.

"Listen dwarf," the girl spat venomously. It was apparent to anyone who was looking at Rachel that she was about to combust. The dark side within the brunette was becoming far too tempting to give into. The alluring voice telling her to show them scary, to show them she was one not to be reckoned with.

"That slushie facial was supposed to tell you how things go around here. Tubbers has gotten all soft after her baby drama. She wanted to leave you alone, but that takes away all of _my_ fun." The cheerleader put her hand on her hip and smirked. Apparently she thought that her getting Rachel mad meant that she was getting to her. Oh, how very wrong she was. "You got into my fight. I was about to go all Lima Heights on Q until you got in the way."

Just as Rachel was about to let her have it, a very familiar arm was draped across her shoulders. She looked up and saw Noah wearing his same old confident smirk. The brunette could guess that the boy saw her about to lose her temper on whoever the girl before her was and decided to intervene. It hadn't taken long for the vampire to see that Puck was more of a good guy than he let on. He simply lived up to peoples' expectations, and since most people only thought of him as a bad ass going nowhere fast, that was all he showed them.

"Hey Hopez. What are you screaming about now?" Puck didn't even seem to be phased by the other girl's obvious heightening anger which led Rachel to believe that he had dealt with this many times before. Although vampires didn't typically enjoy other people stepping in to fight their battles, the brunette was grateful to Noah. He stopped what could've ended up being a disaster.

"Puck, I didn't know your taste had dropped to girls who dress like a perverted Chinese man's wet dream." The cheerleaders eyes raked Rachel's blue button up and short black skirt with what could easily be seen as disgust.

Noah just rolled his eyes. "If you're being this big of a bitch because you haven't ridden the Puckosaurus in awhile, then all you had to do was say so, baby. You know you were always one of my favorites, Santana."

_Finally! The girl had a name, _Rachel thought to herself as she watched their exchange with interest. Santana's anger seemed to reach an all time high, but it also seemed obvious that she knew she couldn't do anything about it against Puck. There was an odd sense of camaraderie between them that Rachel did not even want to try to understand if the sexual innuendos were any clue.

"Not much there to miss, Puckerman. Just keep the gnome on a leash and out of my way," she threatened before she walked off past them. Santana wasn't pleased without bumping her shoulder into Rachel's. The moment their skin touched, the cheerleader stopped, and looked at the brunette with a look that the vampire couldn't read. She didn't have time to get a second look at it because in a blink, it was gone, and Santana was back to walking away from them.

Once she was out of ear shot, Puck shook his head before looking over at Rachel. "You're one lucky chick, babe. How did you even dodge that slushie?" Wordlessly, Noah started walking towards the vampire's first class.

The question caught her off guard. She couldn't possibly say that her heightened vampire sense warned her of the attack. She had to think quick on her feet and hope that what she came up with made sense. "I saw his reflection in the metal of the locker. It was mostly luck with very little help from my reflexes. Nothing too spectacular."

She did her best to cause her voice to sound aloof and somehow he seemed to accept her answer because his head was nodding. They stopped in front of Rachel's anatomy class. "I have to go before I'm late."

To say that Rachel was surprised by Noah's words was an understatement. She did not believe that she would have such a positive influence on him so soon. Of course, she could have compelled the boy to go to his classes, but she did not like to toy with the minds of others unless necessary. "Noah, I am proud to see you taking your classes more seriously. I knew that powerpoint presentation was just what you needed. All you required was a mere push in the right direction."

Noah's face changed into one of mischief with a dash of fear. The latter emotion most likely due to the mention of the twenty seven slide powerpoint. He was going to try lying to Rachel, but after the smack she gave him on the back of the head when she found out last week, he would rather not risk it. The little chick was a lot stronger than she looked. "Uh, I'm going to my fight club. I just gotta hurry to be back by lunch because there's tots today. Bye Berrilicious."

He spoke so fast that if it weren't Rachel he was speaking to, he would not have been understood. She couldn't chase after him or cause another scene that day by yelling at him as he walked down the hallway. So, with a sigh, she walked into her class while making a mental note to scold him later.

The rest of the day went by without a hitch, but Rachel was in a hurry to get home by the end of the day. Her hunger was making itself known due to the previous events of the day and was becoming difficult to control as the day dragged on. It got to the point that as soon as she parked her Prius in the driveway, she had to physically fight herself from using her speed to get in the house. Surely, her next door neighbor Mrs. Perkins would notice as she was watering her garden, so the entire plan was not a good idea. Luckily, Rachel had sent Leroy a text earlier asking him to have a cup ready when she walked through the door.

When she entered the house, she saw the mug on the island, but there was no sign of the rest of her family. Her ears picked up on Leroy's voice calling to her from the den. "Rachel, honey, please come in here. We need to have a family meeting." Immediately, the brunette sped off into the den. She didn't need to use her speed, but it felt good to stretch her legs a bit after having to be conscious of it all day. When she arrived in the room with Leroy and Hiram though, the atmosphere was serious, much more so than she could've anticipated.

"Take a seat dear," Leroy spoke lightly. Rachel listened to him out of respect and sat on the couch across from the two other men, who were both leaning against the desk across from her. "Hiram came across something rather troubling at work today. A rather young male, around twenty or twenty one at most, was found murdered this morning. His blood was completely drained."

As soon as the last words left Leroy's mouth, Rachel's head snapped up. It was easy to interpret what he meant; a vampire had done it. Lima would most likely try to cover it up with an animal attack or freak accident, but they would always know the truth. Hiram having a job in the police force meant that he would be sure to keep them off the trail of anything supernatural if the deaths kept occurring. A little over a week after them moving back to Lima, death already decided to make it's appearance. With them being who they were, it was only a matter of time. Still, Rachel had to reassure them, answer their silent question. "It wasn't me. I haven't taken blood from a human in many years. I swear to you."

Leroy and Hiram's eyes immediately filled with relief. They trusted the vampire that they had taken in as their own daughter, but they were no fools. They knew the beast within them at times roared loudly. Any vampire could snap at any given day. "We believe you, sweetheart," Hiram said in his usual comforting tone. "You know we just had to cover out bases. It would be best if we could find out who is doing this. Drawing attention to our kind in a town with as much history as Lima would not be wise." Hiram as always was right, but finding out who it was would not be simple. Vampires were crafty creatures of the night. If he or she wasn't just passing through, then finding him would be their number one priority.

"Well, I doubt the vampire will.."

Just as Rachel was about to say that she doubted the vampire would just offer themselves on a silver platter, the air shifted in the Berry house. Immediately all eyes were looking at the entrance of the den. Apparently, they spoke too soon.

"A family meeting without me? Don't you think you're one short?" They should've guessed. There, leaning against the door frame, was Sebastian Smythe. "I know you've missed me."


	5. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note: Once again, thank you to all of you who follow, favorite, and review my story! It means so much to me. It's always nice to have your work praised and to have support behind what you're doing.**_

_**Now, it is my time to apologize for how long it has taken me to update this fic! I honestly just got stuck on the chapter after this one and hit writer's block. I hope some of you are still with me and this story! Hopefully, my updates will be more quickly from now on.**_

The past twenty four hours had definitely been exhausting for Rachel. When Sebastian showed up out of the blue last evening, the brunette's situation changed dramatically. The answer to their question of who had preyed on a human was answered, but at the same time, their task of needing to keep it under control became much more difficult.

Everyone in the Berry family drank human blood. They were not "vegetarian" vampires that society decided to invent in the particularly ridiculous Twilight series. In all Rachel's years, she has not come across such a being. Human blood was a necessity, but killing was not. It was much simpler to go to a different state, steal a inconspicuous amount of blood supply from various hospitals, and survive that way.

Sebastian wasn't a cruel or sardonic vampire. He did not kill for sport or to make humans suffer. He was just someone who knew what he was and did not necessarily believe in suppressing it. Living by sipping blood from a cup was something he was capable of for a certain amount of time, but before too long, he would miss the hunt. Instead of caging or fearing the beast within him, he embraced it, lived in harmony with it. It was a concept that Rachel could never understand. Needless to say, it was the cause of many fights between the brunette and the male vampire.

Rachel and Sebastian's relationship was a complicated one that not even Leroy and Hiram understood after nearly a century of trying. At first, they believed that Rachel had turned him in an effort to quell her loneliness after Jesse, but it was quickly obvious that the true reason was guilt. It was nothing more than a moment of weakness on her part around a human, and her inability to be the cause of death. Sebastian never blamed the brunette for what had happened when he heard it all. Adjusting to the life of a vampire was simple and freeing for him. The young man as a human was always greedy, wanting more power and control. When Rachel turned him, she had given him all that in the ultimate form. So, no, their conflict did not stem from resentment. In the brunette's mind, it just stemmed from them being different. Sebastian had truly become the embodiment of a younger brother to her, but there was more to it that only he could reveal.

Last night, Hiram and Leroy had decided to just welcome their son home and discuss all other matters the following day. Rachel sat and engaged in the conversation of what her brother had been up to for the past quarter of a century, but her mind was elsewhere. Her mind was trying to come up with a plan to control her mischievous and adventurous family member. Surprises were never things that the brunette adjusted well to since they tended to disturb her very comfortable routine. Sebastian's recent arrival, therefore, caused Rachel to lose much of her sleep.

The entire ordeal nearly caused Rachel to seriously contemplate not attending school. In the end, as always, her caring about her reputation won out. It did not matter that she had been to school numerous times in her undead life. In her mind, her appearance was still very much important. She liked being seen as someone who was responsible. Her determination, although admirable, was something that she came to regret until lunch.

During the lunch period, Rachel decided to avoid the cafeteria. Large crowds always intensified the hunger, and the brunette didn't want to use up any more energy. Instead, she walked out towards the football field, and laid down on one of the metal bleachers. The sun shined down on her skin, and Rachel basked in it. As she always did when she was in the sunlight, she began to subconsciously play with the silver princess cut ring that was on her right ring finger. It had become a habit many years ago. It along with one picture were the only connections the brunette had left to Jesse.

Although it was nearly two centuries ago, Jesse still held a very conflicting place in her heart. When she was a human, there was no doubt that she loved him. He complimented her so well and treated her like the princess she truly believed she was back then. The question she couldn't answer in her immortal life was whether or not she would've still loved him if she had known that her prince was actually only a prince of the night. It was almost ironic to her. The girl who was filled with dramatics received the most dramatic fairytale ending of all. Jesse had obviously wanted the literal meaning of forever with her. The ring that allowed her to walk in the sunlight was a clear testament to his love and intentions, but she was conflicted when she awoke to her new life.

Footsteps brought Rachel out of her complex past, but she still did not open her eyes. Whomever was approaching would make their presence known in due time. Plus, it wasn't as if anyone was a serious threat to her at the school. The voice that she did hear, however, was not one that she was expecting.

"You're one person that I can't figure out."

Quinn. Rachel's brown eyes opened to look at the girl standing in front of the bleacher the brunette was laying on. It was obvious that the blonde was still in her HBIC mentality that she had within the halls of McKinley. Her posture was tense, eyes cold, and hands were placed firmly on her hips. Rachel moved her body into a sitting position as a silent invitation for the head cheerleader to sit. "I'm sorry," the vampire said as more of a question. "I don't really know what you are speaking of. For the most part, I am an open book if you simply ask what you wish to know. There are some things I would keep private until I became better acquainted with you of course, but most people are that way." _Well, that's a lie, _Rachel thought. She doubted that any conversation they would have would bring up her being a vampire, and that was a talk that she would never start.

The blonde sat down and then flattened the invisible wrinkles on her cheerio skirt. It was clear that the uniform was more like an armor to her. It meant honor and power inside of those halls, but Rachel couldn't help but notice how dimmed the light in those hazel eyes were. "Normally I can figure out what makes someone in this school tick just by looking at them," her soft voice spoke out to Rachel again. "It's how I can keep my power over them. Things here are kill or be killed when it comes to popularity, so I always know who is a threat to me or not. You, are the only one I'm not so sure of. Santana said that she got a bad vibe from you, but I'm pretty sure she feels that way about everyone."

It never ceased to amaze Rachel how important status and popularity were to people even at such a relatively young age. Truthfully though, she shouldn't be at all surprised. The brunette remembered her human life where status and material possessions were everything. Appearance was everything back then, and it appeared that the Fabray family still instilled those beliefs. Rachel's memory of Annabel Fabray, William Fabray's daughter, was still vivid, and it almost amused her how certain mentalities and mannerisms could survive generations. "Why would I be a threat to you, Quinn? I honestly could not be any less interested in the politics of popularity. Truthfully, I don't know how you do it. Living under the constant scrutiny of others must be exhausting when you know that they are just waiting for you to trip off the social ladder in one way or another. As for Santana, she has quite a lot of anger. I've just learned to steer clear of he path to save me a headache."

Quinn's body tensed and the brunette observed her closely. It was almost ironic in Rachel's mind that the blonde found her to be a mystery when the cheerleader herself was one of the most perplexing humans that the vampire has ever come across. "You know that has already happened once. I heard Santana tell you about my… my sophomore year. Why don't you treat me differently? Everyone asks questions about it. I haven't heard of you asking one."

The brunette turned her body slightly so that she could face Quinn more, but was careful not to intrude on her personal space. "Yes, I did hear the rather tactless way she informed me of your situation, but it isn't my place to pry. I would not lie to you and say that my curiosity did not peak, but I can guarantee that it was not for the reasons you may think. It was more out of concern than anything else." Rachel made sure that her voice was as sincere as her feelings were. She could never imagine having gone through something like a teen pregnancy in a place like Lima, Ohio. No matter how much time has passed, judgment was still rooted deep in the small town.

"You don't even know me," Quinn said in a guarded voice.

Her eyes were looking off towards the football field, but it was clear that her mind was elsewhere. Where that was exactly, Rachel hadn't the faintest idea, but she couldn't fight the feeling of wanting to know. Something caused the brunette to want to get closer to the blonde. It was the reason why she intervened in the fight on her first day. The entire situation was not one that she had made sense of yet, but she knew that she had to tread carefully. Not only because Quinn was someone that obviously had the ability of pushing away most likely rather forcibly if she felt threatened, but also because Rachel was not human. The risk of the blonde getting too close and discovering what she is was not an option, but even though her mind knew this, her mouth decided to speak another thing entirely. "Just because I don't, does not mean that I don't want to, Quinn."

The blonde's face for the first time since she had sat down turned to look at Rachel. So many emotions were swimming inside of her hazel orbs. The simplest ones to pin point were fear, sadness, and apprehension. _Always the guarded one, _Rachel thought for what had to be the millionth time since meeting the head cheerleader. Just as she was going to open her mouth to speak, the bell rang signaling the end of the lunch period. In a split second, Quinn's eyes returned to being hard and expressionless. She stood and began walking down the bleachers without another word. Her movements only stopped at the bottom when she called out, "Well, are you coming?"

Rachel shook her head at how fast it took the blonde to go from one façade to another. In no time, she was back to her authoritative tone. The vampire grabbed her shoulder bag and was about to respond when she saw a figure leaning against a tree in the distance. It was far for a human's eyes to make out, but as soon as Rachel saw the outline of a very well sculpted hairdo, she knew who it was. "You go ahead, Quinn. I forgot that I left the book I require for my next period in my car."

The HBIC shrugged it off and continued walking towards the school. When Rachel could no longer see her blonde ponytail swishing from side to side, she rushed over to where her brother was. "What exactly are you doing here, Sebastian?"


	6. Chapter 5

Sebastian was leaning against a tree just on the outskirts of the school ground. He knew his sisters habits much better than the brunette gave him credit for, and that proved to be true the second the tiny brunette flashed right before him. Rachel as always was apprehensive. She still lived her life more like a human than an unstoppable creature. If he cared to look closely enough, he would see the wheels in her mind spinning. "What? I can't just come to see where my dear sister is wasting her life away?"

The puff of indignation and crossing of her arms was just the reaction he was looking for. Perhaps he took the role of "little brother" too seriously, but getting under Rachel Berry's skin was addictively entertaining. His fascination with being the cause of most of her unnecessary tantrums caused many people to believe that he did not care for her, and he never took the time to correct them. Emotional attachments were not what Sebastian Smythe was ever known for. Looking out for himself, being blunt, and some would say just a down right jackass were what he was known best for. A part of him knew that he should be listening to Rachel's words as they flew out of her mouth at a million miles per second, but in all honesty, he just did not give a damn; and to top it off, he'd heard it all before. Something about the importance of always expanding her education and how it was better than wasting her eternity away without doing anything to better herself. Just the fact that he knew that much should show that it made an effort to listen maybe once in the past.

His eyes rolled uncontrollably at this point. "So, that delectable little morsel that you were just speaking to has nothing to do with it? Such a shame. Here I thought your taste was getting better, or at the very least becoming existent." This time Sebastian's eyes did focus onto Rachel's as he spoke his words and what he saw highly amused him. In all the years that Sebastian has known the girl before him, he has never seen her take interest in anyone outside of their family. It was no secret that Sebastian enjoyed a romp in the sack with a handsome boy on many occasions. He found humans to be the best choices because of the hunt, easy pickings, and the fact that they could later serve as a midnight snack. No need to have someone go fetch him something after a good lay if the meal was right beside him. Rachel however, hasn't shown an attraction to anyone ever since Jesse. So, the fact that the same girl was now getting even more worked up by his mention of a cute blonde in a cheerleading uniform was just too good of an opportunity for him to pass up. "So, you wouldn't mind if I gave her a taste?"

Within milliseconds of the words leaving his mouth, Sebastian was forcibly pushed up against the tree. Rachel's fangs were threatening to expose themselves and her grip around his neck was tightening with each passing moment. "Do not ever touch her," she hissed. Her words were laced with venom, and Sebastian was positive that he had never seen her as mad as she was. A smirk appeared on his lips at that thought. _Finally, _he thought to himself. He finally sparked something inside of her, and to him, it was amazing to see.

However, within a few blinks of the eye it was gone. It was as if a switch had been flipped within the brunette, and she realized just where they were. Sebastian watched as Rachel removed her hand as if his skin were on fire and as quickly as could be seen as normal, she raced to her car. He knew she was heading home and wasn't about to just walk away from the potential progress he had just made. So, he took off running towards their home in hopes of cutting her off.

When he arrived at the Berry household, he saw Rachel's car parked in the driveway. As always, Sebastian walked in with his nonchalant demeanor and could already hear Rachel yelling off to Leroy about the "danger" of him being there. _Always one for the dramatics, _he thought as he made his way into the humble abode. The brunette was in the kitchen drinking a mug of blood as she continued to spew off her rant. He leaned against the wall at the entryway of the eating space and chuckled lightly. "It's always so heartwarming to see how much you enjoy my company."

Rachel turned towards him quickly, lifted up her finger, and closed their distance. "Whose fault is it for me feeling this way, Sebastian? All you do is cause destruction and death wherever you go. Your obvious lack of respect for our desire to remain hidden is going to cause us to move yet again." Throughout her entire little spiel, he remained calm. Mostly because he did not care about a single thing Rachel said, but also because he knew how much his lack of emotion bothered the brunette. The indifference he constantly portrayed was only further proof of how little he cared about anyone other than himself. "Yet, it was you Rachel you sprinted to me and pushed me so hard into a tree that it caused a dent in public just mere minutes ago." His comeback was cool and had the desired effect as he saw the girl's shoulders deflate slightly. Even Leroy's eyebrows rose at the mention of his daughter's outburst because it was so uncharacteristic of her.

If there was ever someone who was in control of her emotions, it was Rachel Berry. Sebastian blamed it on the fact that she was similar to a walking corpse who could just do a few fancy tricks, but that afternoon she proved him wrong. She showed Sebastian a glimpse of what he'd wanted to see out of his sire for so long, and he was not about to let it go to waste. If that blonde little human had something to do with it, then he would make sure that Rachel was around her as much as possible. "You aren't so righteous now, are you ,beloved sister? There is something about that girl that gets under your skin, and believe me when I say that I am determined to get to the bottom of it. Even if I myself must subject myself to spending time with her." He visibly cringed at the idea of his last words. The idea of being around a human with any other purpose than getting a meal out of them was disturbing to say the least.

His words caused the brunette to once again tense, but the reaction was no where near as violent as the last. With the pressure of Quinn and the knowledge of what she had just done in public on her shoulders, Rachel seemed more exhausted than she did angry. "I already told you to leave her out of it," she spoke in an exasperated tone. "She has nothing to do with this. I was merely angered by your blatant disregard for our family's wishes!"

"I would believe that if it wasn't for the fact that this is something that you've dealt with many times before. I have not changed, Rachel. I've always told you when and whom I feel like killing at any moment's time. What's changing here is you." When he saw her brace herself for a rebuttal, Sebastian struck the wall with such force that nearly a quarter of it wound up on the floor. "Is that so hard for you to believe? For fuck's sake, Rachel. Show that you care about someone, something other than a pile of ashes from over a century ago!"

Leroy was about to step in after his son's tactless remark when the doorbell rang. Rachel was too busy attempting to control herself to be bothered with answering it, so that left Sebastian himself. When he opened the door though, he could not be more annoyed at the sight he saw from the other side. _They cannot expect me to not dine on humans, if takeout is just going to be delivered to the house now, _Sebastian's mind entertained. To keep up appearances, Sebastian raised his voice louder than necessary to get the attention of his other two family members. "Rachel, it seems as if a poodle has followed you home."

Looking much calmer than she did just moments ago, the girl in question appeared beside her brother and wished that her eyes were deceiving her. After blinking a couple of times though, it was no mistake. Noah Puckerman had decided to stop by, and he couldn't have picked worse timing. While Rachel was worrying about how to explain the gaping hole in the wall of the kitchen, Sebastian was thinking about how much more interesting things were going to become. Earlier his sister was so concerned with wanting to deal with him, that she did not notice that not everyone filed into the school when he bell rung.


	7. Chapter 6

_**Author's Notes: Hello everyone! I just wanted to let you know that Faberry will be coming in the next chapter! Have a little bit of patience and bear with me. I'm all about the realistic and slow character progressions! Plus, we need progression with quite a few characters to make this story become great!**_

_**Thank you everyone for the tremendous amount of support I've gotten with this story! Your follows, favorites, and reviews mean so much! **_

The day could not get any worse; Rachel was sure of it. Not only was she functioning on very little sleep and dealing with the most frustrating vampire on the face of the Earth, but now she had Noah Puckerman on her front porch. As much as she normally enjoyed his company, she was not in the right frame of mind to behave like a human at that point and time. Nonetheless, she knew she could not dismiss him. Her manners and upbringing would not allow it. So, she put on the biggest smile she could muster and hoped all would run smoothly. "Hello, Noah, please come in. Although, I am not happy with your obvious absence from school, I am afraid I am not in a place to say anything at the moment."

Puck stood cautiously before her with his hands shoved deeply inside of his pockets. When Rachel really looked at him, she could see that something was clearly off. It had been over a minute since the door had been open, and he had yet to greet her with some absurd pet name or make an inappropriate comment of some sort. Luckily the awkward silence did not last much longer. "Look, I don't even know why I'm here. At first I thought that I had just smoked some really good weed that was making me see some really weird shit. But, even after I blinked a ton of times, I still saw you holding a dude off the ground by his neck. Then I saw the dude run off like he was Flash or something. So, I came here for you to tell me I'm tripping and everything can be cool."

If it wasn't for the fact that she was in far too much shock to say something, she would've been impressed by the length of his ramblings. When she heard laughter behind her, she whipped her head around fast enough to hear bones crack. "You saw him and didn't say a word? Better yet, you knew he was there and you still decided to use your speed when you left?" Sebastian's continuation of laughter, just like most things he did, only served to further frustrate the brunette.

"So, you believe that confirming the poodle's accusations is a better way to hide what we are? Sheer brilliance, Rachel." Sebastian followed his words with a sarcastic applause as if the former wasn't enough.

Immediately her brother's words sunk in, and she turned to look at a shocked Puckerman. "Wait, you're saying it's true? What the fuck is going on, Rachel?" Just as the words were leaving his lips, the brunette grabbed Noah and pulled him into the house. She knew there was no turning back now. For the first time in her undead life, there was a threat of a human finding out about her existence. She could feel her father's apprehensive eyes on her as she brought a human into their home. Sebastian was just standing there amused at the entire mess he had created. It was clearly Rachel's decision what was to happen, and she had no idea how to proceed. Humans in Lima finding out about vampires never led to good things if the past taught her anything. Yet, her now obvious soft spot for the young man before her was causing her to pause. It was foolish, but apparent nonetheless. "Everyone just calm down for one moment please." Although her words appeared to be for those around her, Rachel knew they were for herself as well.

After taking a couple of unnecessary breaths, the brunette had come to a conclusion. Picking up on Noah's habits and personality from the little time they had spent together made her come to the conclusion that he would not leave willingly without any answers. The boy was as stubborn as he was incorrigible. With this in mind, it left only one other option; compulsion, which immediately was out of the question for her. Messing with the minds of others was never something that she was very keen on. Leroy believes that she is so hesitant about it because of her past with Jesse, but she refused to believe the words of another vampire who was deciding to pick up psychology as a hobby. As much as she loved him, she did not believe that everything about her personality and beliefs linked back to that night over a hundred years ago. "We're vampires, Noah." The words had slipped out of her mouth before she fully even realized what was happening. Leroy set down the mug he had been nursing since she arrived home in case he needed to intervene, whereas Sebastian just sat back to enjoy the show.

"You're shitting me, right? You expect me to believe that shit?" Rachel wished that she could've warned him to not open his mouth because the moment he did, Sebastian saw a golden opportunity and pounced on it. Within the blink of an eye, Sebastian had Puck off the ground in a grip that the brunette could see was painful for the boy. With his fangs exposed and voice hissing her well timed brother asked, "Is this real enough, yet?"

"Put him down, Sebastian! Did you really think that this would be the best way to ease him into believing us? You couldn't have, oh I don't know, ran around the house or turned into a pile of ash by walking into sunlight?" The last part of her words was only said out of annoyance. No matter how much ill will or torment Sebastian had put her through over the years, Rachel would never wish for any actual harm to happen to anyone in her family.

With a roll of his eyes, Sebastian placed the jock down. Rachel remained in front of the main entrance door while Leroy blocked the only other exit through the kitchen. Now that the information was out there, they could not allow the boy to run out and tell anyone who would listen. "My way was much more entertaining. Well, that was until the poor thing wet himself. Honestly sister, can't you at least bring the potty trained ones home?"

The dig at his 'badass reputation' was enough to bring Puckerman out of his stupor and into reality. Well, what he thought was reality anyway. After what he thought was stealthily checking his jeans for any wet spots, he looked around for a way to get out. There was no way that being around a bunch of vampires was good for his life span. Sure, Rachel was hot in his eyes, but being a sex slave to a vampire family was just way too out there for him. "Look, just let me get the hell out of here, alright? I won't tell anyone about you guys. I just want to go home and pretend that none of this crazy shit happened."

Rachel pinched the bridge of her nose and took in a deep breath. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Noah. In your current state, it is clear that you are not in the right frame of mind, and I cannot guarantee that you will not tell anyone."

She watched as Noah's face changed from one of fear to one that could only be described as a 'you're fucking with me.' "Put you in danger? I'm the one that you could eat and kill in the blink of an eye! What the hell do you have to worry about? This is Lima not Resident Evil or whatever."

For the first time throughout the entire situation, Sebastian moved next to Rachel and crossed his arms. The sudden movement did not go unnoticed by the human, and thanks to her brother's lovely stunt, Puck flinched at the sight of the male vampire. "Oh calm down. I don't bite unless you beg for it; in bed." The mental image caused Rachel to shiver and rethink not taking her father up on his offers of therapy. "Alright, we've had our fun. Let's compel the fool and be done with it."

For once her brother's timing was appreciated because if nothing else it got the horrific mental image to be pushed into the back of her mind. "No! You know that I am not a fan of toying with the minds of others. Just because we can does not mean that we should, Sebastian!"

Her brother threw his hands up in the air. "Then what do you suggest we do? Keep him in our dungeon while we sleep comfortably in our coffins?"

How Sebastian managed to say the last part of his words with a straight face was beyond the brunette's abilities to understand. "Stop trying to scare him more than he already is! You know damn well that we do not have a dungeon or coffins. We sleep in beds just like humans do." The last bit of her words were said much more softly and directed towards Noah. She needed to try and get him to calm down before they could have any kind of conversation. Oddly enough, the fact that vampires existed did not seem to bother him. Well, he did spend an awful lot of time speaking about zombies and things of the like, so perhaps Rachel should not have been too surprised. He just seemed to be worried for his life which she could not blame. "Noah, I can only imagine how large of an adjustment this must be for you, but I guarantee you that we will not harm you. If it would make you feel more secure, I can fix you a drink with a special herb in it that would harm us if we even attempted to bite you. It would also protect you from being compelled."

The room was silent for a few moments while the boy seemed to think it over, but soon enough, the sound of a disbelieving scoff reverberated off the walls into the space. "How stupid do you think I am? For all I know you could give me that shit to just get me to put my guard down, and them bam, you're teeth are sinking into my guns." Only Noah Puckerman would flex his arms to make a point about being a main course for a house filled with vampires. The quality to make any serious situation seem even only slightly more light hearted was one of the reasons why Rachel was so drawn to the boy.

To prove him wrong, Rachel walked into the study to grab a vase that held the exact herb she was speaking of. As she walked off, she heard Sebastian ask Puck if he truly wanted him to answer the question in regards to his intelligence. The brunette could only pray that her friend was smart enough to not actually engage in an argument with an immortal being. Just in case, her pace picked up slightly as she walked back into the living room. She placed the vase onto the coffee table that was in the center of their living space, and without even thinking twice about it, she dipped her hand into the ceramic piece. The burning of her skin could only be heard by a vampire's ears, but it was clear as day when she pulled her hand out while still holding onto the rosemary. With a low hiss, she released the poison back into the vase.

Noah watched as Rachel's hand healed right before his eyes. His eyes locked onto the expressive brown ones across from his own and saw the same kindness in them that he had always seen. With nothing other than a nod, he granted Rachel the permission to make him the drink.

Relieved that he was at least giving them a chance, even though it did come with insurance, petite vampire sprinted off to the kitchen to make him his beverage. When she returned, the glass was immediately handed to the boy. Once he was finished consuming the entire contents of the glass, he looked straight at the girl he considered a friend just hours before and spoke. "I'm still scared as fuck, but I'll hear you out. You say you won't hurt me, and I believe you because I must've taken my bat shit crazy pills this morning. Just, no more lying to me. I don't know if I want to have any other surprises come from you after this one."

At the scene, Sebastian could only sigh and walk off towards his room. Of course, he couldn't leave without making one last remark telling his sister to be sure to show her new playmate just how her skin glitters.


	8. Chapter 7

_**Author's Notes: Here you go guys. The very anticipated Faberry chapter! I hope you all enjoy it! **_

It was safe to say that Rachel was on the brink of insanity. Well, in her opinion at least. Not only was she having to function after two nights of very little sleep and a brother that had the unmatched skill of getting on her nerves, but she also had Noah Puckerman at her house most of the night. If it wasn't for the fact that she had a very important mission to complete, she would be at home curled up on her bed. However, until she delivered the little box that was safely in her pocket, she knew she would not get any rest.

Yesterday had brought a lot of things to her attention. The most important point that was realized was how unprotected one particular blonde cheerleader was. After Sebastian's threat the previous day and his suggestions of compelling Noah, Rachel knew that Quinn was far too vulnerable for her liking. Add to that her brother's fascination for the brunette's unexplainable pull towards the girl, and it was a recipe for trouble. These reasons were why Rachel was up for most of the night making the perfect bracelet for the blonde. Well, making is a little too much credit. All she really did was take her favorite linked silver bracelet and painfully placed some rosemary into the little heart charm that dangled from one of the links.

Realistically, the preparation of the gift only took a couple of minutes. What was the biggest cause of her sleep deprivation was thinking about how she was going to give Quinn the gift. They hadn't exactly known each other very long, and the last thing she wanted was for her actions to raise any more suspicions. The entire situation was ridiculous. A one hundred and ninety eight year old vampire was nervous over a girl. She was positive that maturity and wisdom were supposed to accumulate over the years, but her mind's behavior made a good case against that.

After deciding her approach, Rachel arrived at McKinley an hour before the first bell. Since the cheerios typically had practice before school, the brunette decided to go out and sit on the bleachers. It had nothing to do with just how attractive Quinn looked in those skirts while doing some rather impressive flips in the air she told herself. That rather appealing fact was just a bright side to the fact that it made most sense to be there in order to see when the captain was finished with her duties. Nearly thirty minutes had passed by until the rather deranged woman announced from her megaphone that her team was free to go. Quinn was the last to leave the field which gave Rachel the perfect opportunity to make her way down the bleachers and speak to the girl. "Hello, Quinn."

"Rachel," she said curtly in a rather old fashioned form of greeting. All she was missing was the curt head nod, and she would have it perfected. "What has you out here an hour early watching my practice?" When a perfectly sculpted eyebrow rose in question, the vampire was positive that she would've felt her heart beat pick up slightly if she were still alive. How one simple action can cause intimidation while alluding an equal amount of sexy was beyond the brunette.

Swallowing was the only action that Rachel could do for a moment until she remembered exactly what she wished to say. "I… Well, I have something that I want to give you. It's just a small gift. Think of it as a thank you for being so welcoming to me. Coming to a new place can be a rather overwhelming experience, but you've managed to make it more bearable." Rachel rummaged through the front pocket of her bag for the long rectangular box. Once she had it in her grasps she held it out for the cheerleader. "So, thank you."

Quinn for her part was in shock. Her face may have held onto it's very well practiced calm, cool mask, but on the inside, she was a bundle of emotions. Surprisingly, they were all positive. The blonde had always heard the quote about finding out who someone really is and who their friends are through times of pain, and she definitely learned that the past year. What was most troubling about the fact was that out of the five hundred or so facebook friends and people clinging on to her popularity as a life raft, when push came to shove, only a handful of people were there. She knew that a part of her was to blame, but it still made it all sting even worse. Her family had turned her back on her, some 'friends,' and then the one being that could love her unconditionally she had to give away. No one goes through all of that and remains the same person they were before it all. Yet, people at McKinley believed that she was back to being the good old Quinn, the bitch, the HBIC. Maybe she was a better actress than she thought.

Now there was this complete stranger showing her more compassion than she had received since her fall from grace. Rachel knew what had happened to Quinn the year before, but she didn't seem to care. Instead she comes offering friendships, an open mind, and gifts. Without a word, the blonde took the box from the small, tan hand and carefully opened it. At the sight of the gorgeous bracelet, she took in a barely noticeable breath. For many that wouldn't be much, but for the blonde, it was more emotion than anyone else could get out of her anymore. The fingers on her free hand reached out to delicately trace over the silver links as she continued to be lost in her own world. Rachel stood there apprehensively biting her lip attempting to patiently wait out a response. After nearly three minutes of nothing though, her impulse got the best of her. "If you don't like it, I can return it. I only thought that it would be a nice gesture."

The words were all it took to snap Quinn out of whatever internal monologue was going through her mind. She shook her head to silence whatever long ramble the other girl was going through. "I like it. Thank you, Rachel." She really wanted to say that she loved it, and that she couldn't remember the last time someone had done something so thoughtful for her, but that would show too much. Short and sweet was always the way to go in the blonde's mind. She was safer that way. Carefully, Quinn took the bracelet out of it's case and motioned it towards the petite girl. "Would you mind helping me get it on?"

_There has to be something in that voice,_ Rachel thought because no matter what the cheerleader asked, she was sure that the sound would hypnotize her to say yes. "Of course." Tan fingers grabbed the clasp and other end of the bracelet as Quinn flipped her wrist over. Their skin brushed for only a second, but it was all it took to elicit a shiver from the hazel eyed girl. "Perfect fit."

Quinn nodded and then turned her wrist back over to see how it looked on her. A small smile crept onto her face at the sight of it. When she looked back up to meet the other girl's eyes, she was caught in the most warming brown eyes she had ever seen. Just like the rest of Rachel Berry, they were welcoming. "Why are you so nice? I mean, you don't even know me, and I know you've said you want to, but you haven't said why." There was that guarded exterior again. She had to go ahead and ruin a completely nice moment with her pessimism. No matter what, she would always be waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Rachel sighed at the question but still kept a small smile on her face. "Is it so impossible for me to like you and not want anything in return, Quinn Fabray?"

The blonde shouldered her duffle bag. "Everyone wants something, Berry." A small part of Quinn wanted to smack herself for not being able to just give the girl before her a chance. There was a small voice in her head telling her that if she pushed too hard, then Rachel may get tired of pushing back, and to her surprise, the thought actual caused a small drop in her stomach. "I've got to go tidy up before class. Thank you again for the bracelet."

With that she was walking off towards the locker room leaving a very perplexed Rachel behind. Every time she thought that she and Quinn got somewhere, the other girl would take three large steps back. Just as she was about to pick up her own bag and head towards the main building, a voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Yo, tubbers. You'll never believe the crazy shit my mom told me last night. I found these weird books in the attic while cleaning it out, and she told me they were my grandma's spell books. Then she went on to say that I could be a witch, and if I was curious about it to go ask my Tia." Santana wound up cracking up halfway through telling her news. "If this is true, your ass better be scared. You're first on my list of revenge for that little stunt you pulled back at the beginning of the year." With a half hearted shove towards Quinn's shoulder, the raven haired girl walks off. The head cheerleader just gives her a warning

Rachel's eyes widened when she heard the information. Her mind wanted to explode. If Santana was from a long line of witches, then that meant they were powerful. Lima was turning out to be much more complicated than she ever anticipated.


	9. Chapter 8

_**Author's Notes: I'd like to say a special thanks to some people who have been giving me great reviews. Guest review MD, Chichitehahh, Jaely, Linksys, and Mini-Quinn. I appreciate everyone's reviews of course, but these have been the ones that have given me the most descriptive feedback. Thank you all! I truly appreciate it! **_

The weekend had finally come, and Rachel couldn't be any more grateful. Between Noah's 'secret' glances at her which practically screamed that he knew a secret, Quinn Fabray's incredibly confusing behavior, and the possibility of Santana being a witch, the brunette needed the break. Just some moment of peace and clarity should not be that difficult to come by. In all of her years, Rachel could not remember high school ever being so confusing. Lima hadn't been the center of any vampire or magic activity since 1813, and yet, somehow it all was just under the surface. None of it made any sense. All of the stories she had heard over the years told her that the citizens of Lima had eliminated all of the vampires and witches years ago. The few that did survive had fled the state, and like herself, never looked back. If those tales were true though, how was there so much happening?

With those circles of thoughts floating through her mind, the vampire made her way down to the kitchen to heat up some breakfast. All thoughts immediately came to a halt when she heard the news coming from the living room television. Another death. Azimo Adams had been murdered. The news anchor was reporting how the detectives are saying that the cause of death is currently undetermined. The small town was now going to stir. Two murders without an arrest was going to cause fear.

In the blink of an eye, Rachel was inside of Sebastian's room. She didn't bother to knock because she was too livid. "I understand that you only care for yourself, but how could you be this selfish? Another death in less than two weeks? You aren't even attempting to conceal the bodies! Do you want to put us all in danger?" The brunette was fuming. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her foot was tapping impatiently.

Before the disruption, Sebastian was laying on his bed reading a novel. Due to his exceptional hearing, he wasn't at all surprised when his sire barged through his door. Annoyed, yes, but not surprised. It was rather hard to sneak up on a vampire after all. "What the hell are you bitching about now? I've honestly lost count of how many things you yell at me on a daily basis. Personally, I just think you need to get laid, but you refuse to listen to my exceptional knowledge on the subject."

The fact that her brother couldn't even be bothered to look up from his book when she was speaking to him did not at all help the situation. Which was why she grabbed the book from his grasp and ripped it in half without a care in the world. "If you could grace me with your complete attention, perhaps I wouldn't have to spell out the obvious," she said with a dangerous hiss. "Another person was killed last night, one of my classmates. What the hell were you thinking?"

"You just wasted a collectable copy of Pride and Prejudice." Although he knew that he should drop his sass since his sire was incredibly upset, Sebastian had never seen her be as emotional as she had been since they returned to Ohio. Someone could compare him to a young child trying to test how much he got away with before getting punished, but he didn't care. For once, Rachel didn't appear to be dead, and Sebastian thought that was much more healthy than what she used to be. The fact that the major emotion always seemed to be anger was just a small inconvenience. "As for the human, I haven't killed anyone in Lima, Ohio. As hard as this may be to believe, once I reach the amount of frustration that I want you to go through, I listen to what you say. Anyone that I've been snacking on has been in another state. It's why I was gone the past two days."

If it wasn't for the fact that he was gone for the past two days, Rachel most likely wouldn't have believed him. However, the brunette did realize the tremendous amount of peace and quiet in the house which could only be attributed to her brother's absence. Hearing that Sebastian had not killed the boy did not bring the amount of relief that it should've. All that told the brunette was that there was another monster out there taking the lives of innocent people. Immediately her mind went to Quinn and Noah, and she wanted to chastise herself. That was the exact reason she never wanted to get close to humans. They were too fragile. In a moment, they could be ripped from the Earth where Rachel was doomed to always remain. "I believe you. I apologize for jumping to conclusions, but you must admit that given your tendencies, I had to ask." Rachel ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "Wonderful. On top of everything else, I have to keep my eyes out for another vampire."

Internally, Sebastian was slightly worried about another vampire intruding on Lima. Normally, he wouldn't think anything of another one of their kind passing through a town, but this was different. Lima, Ohio, wasn't exactly a large town. He very much doubted that vampires were dying to visit since if they ran too fast, they would easily pass it. Voicing his concern was just not in his nature though. Instead he would keep his eyes and ears open. "Touching," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Are we done now? All of this bonding time is making me slightly nauseous. You do that whole heroic vampire thing. I'll be doing just about anything else."

Rachel was about to respond when she heard the doorbell ring. Her relaxing Saturday was turning out to be the exact opposite. At a human's pace, Rachel walked down the stairs and opened to the door to reveal a very angry Noah Puckerman. Before she could even properly greet him, he was ranting and raving about Azimo Adams. "I'm not a complete moron, Rachel. 'Undetermined cause of death,' on two murders pretty much points to vampire. So, did any of you do this? He was my damn teammate!"

The brunette was too shocked to say anything. Never in her undead life had she been lectured by a human, and the sight was rather amusing and mystifying. If she wanted to, she could snap Noah in half like a twig, yet he thought it was wise to arrive at her house with accusations. "Have you finished speaking?" When she was met with silence, she nodded. "To answer your question, no, none of us killed Azimo. I am sorry to hear of your loss, but I can promise you that no one in this house was the cause of his death."

Once Puckerman heard that no one in the Berry family killed his teammate, the jock deflated. The fact that someone he knew was murdered wasn't why he was so mad. Like, sure, he was bummed and sorry for the loss, but he wasn't really close to the guy. What got him so angry was him thinking that he had trusted Rachel, and it looked like she let him down. "If none of you did it, then who did?"

Rachel's hands went to massage her temples at the question. It was a terrific one to ask, but sadly she did not have the answer which only made her head hurt. "If I could tell you Noah, I would. Your guess is about as good as mine at this point and time. Even though it is against my better judgment, the moment I hear something, I will inform you."

"Why would that be against your better judgment or whatever?"

The fact that the boy before her had no idea as to why that could be a horrible idea only confirmed Rachel's thoughts. A human should not be aware of her world for a reason. Yes, living in secret did have it's downfalls and annoyances, but Rachel truly believed that it was for the better good. Humans could not handle the idea that there was something higher than them on the food chain. "Because Noah, you being involved in vampire matters is not exactly the most intelligent idea. It's incredibly dangerous actually. I do not want you getting too involved."

When all he did was scoff in response, Rachel threw her hands in the air. It was pointless. At that point, the boy before her felt like he was a member of a secret society comparable to CIA in his mind. "I apologize, but I think I need to go for a walk to clear my mind. Since Sebastian is the only other one home, I do not believe you will feel comfortable waiting here for my return." The brunette had to stifle her giggle at the sight of Noah's facial expression change from one of defiance to one of discomfort. He led the way out the door and waited for Rachel to lock up before heading for his pick up truck. Before the vampire turned away towards her path, she left the boy with some advice. "Oh, and Noah," she spoke quietly enough so only the two of them could hear. "When you believe that people are the cause of a murder, going to their home and accusing them as such is most likely not the most wise decision." The boy only gave her a cheeky smile and wink before hoping into the driver's seat.

Her destination was simple to pick since there wasn't much to do in the small town. When she reached the quaint little park near her home, she began walking along the nature path. It wove her through many trees and grass openings, but her mind was too preoccupied to appreciate any of it. There was always too much to think about. She had to worry about whether or not it was a good idea to not compel Noah, worry about Sebastian doing something else to frustrate her, and now a new threat. Things were just becoming more complicated.

After walking about a mile or so, Rachel set her eyes on a sight she did not expect to see. A little bit in the distance was Quinn Fabray sitting on a bench and writing in what appeared to be a journal. The brunette didn't plan to approach the other girl, but when those hazel eyes looked up from her writings and landed on the petite vampire, she knew she would have no choice.

Slowly she approached the girl with her hands behind her back. The blonde scooted over a bit to one side of the bench as a silent invitation for the brunette to take a seat. When Rachel got close enough, the cheerleader closed her journal and set it on her lap. The vampire couldn't help but take in the other girl's appearance. Quinn was dressed differently than she normally was in school. Gone was the red and white cheerleading uniform, and on was a beautiful light blue sundress. Beautiful was the only word that came to mind when brown eyes looked her over. "Hello, Quinn. I hope I am not interrupting anything terribly important. If you'd rather be left to your own devices, I can just continue on my way."

Quinn shook her head and turned her body a bit to better look at the brunette. "Hello, Rachel. You're not interrupting anything too important. You're the one that looks to have a lot on your mind."

"You were not joking when you told me that you could normally read people easily, were you?" Rachel asks with a small giggle. "It's nothing too serious. I simply came out for a walk because it was a beautiful day and to get away from my rather frustrating brother."

"I didn't know you had a brother? Younger or older?"

"Younger, yet he seems to forget that fact most days."

The blonde couldn't help but giggle at the obviously frustrated face that Rachel's face morphed into at the mention of her sibling. "I'm sorry. He sounds like quite a handful."

Rachel waved her hand as if to dismiss the subject of the little monster. "Enough about him. I came on this walk to escape him after all. This is rather delayed, but our conversation took off rather quickly. You look very beautiful today, Quinn. If I may say, I like this look much better than those cheerio uniforms you are forced to wear each day."

To her amazement and embarrassment, Quinn felt a rise of heat creep up from her neck to her cheeks. The compliment was so sincere and said without expectations of anything happening after it. With boys they mostly said compliments to go out on a date or for them to finally get passed first base, but Rachel was proving to be completely different from anyone the cheerleader had ever met. Briefly her mind wondered if the brunette was into girls, but she quickly shook that thought aside out of shock. "Thank you. I like this better than the uniforms too, but they do come with some pros, so I don't mind only showing my fashion sense on the weekends too much."

"I am going to assume that you are referring to your popularity when you say pros. Normally I would not understand, but once I've seen a couple of students get a cold beverage thrown in their face and thrown in the dumpster, I see why you take it so seriously. Somehow I've only had one close call with Santana."

Quinn stayed silent for a moment wondering if she should say that Rachel's safety in the halls of McKinley was her doing. Typically, she would never say such a thing, but the blonde wanted the other girl to know that she did something kind for her. "I may have put a ban on you after you broke up the fight between Santana and I," the blonde said with a shrug to make it seem like less of a big deal than it was.

A smile broke out on Rachel's face at the cheerio's words. "Well, I didn't know I was friends with such an important lady," she said in a teasing tone. "Thank you, Quinn. Those frozen beverages to the face do not look very pleasant. I appreciate you looking out for me."

The blonde internally scolded herself when her shoulders shrugged again. She knew she was much more articulate than that and was not going to allow herself to be some shy, blushing mute in front of the other girl. _Get it together, Fabray, _she mentally berated herself before speaking up again. "Don't mention it. It's what friends do."

Friend. It was strange how one word could cause so many conflicting emotions in different organs. In her mind she found the word nice and was happy to have gained another friend outside of her family for the fist time in too many years. Her stomach and heart however were less ecstatic about the news which perplexed the vampire. The former dropped slightly while the latter ached. Her mind tried to rationalize that perhaps she was only hungry which Rachel was all too happy to believe in that moment. She had enough on her plate without adding the feelings towards Quinn Fabray onto it. "Well then, I am happy to have such a wonderful friend."

Rachel was happy to be the cause of the small somewhat bashful smile that appeared on the blonde's delicate features. The happiness was short lived though at the girl's following words. "I better get home. My mom would worry if I'm not home before sunset." The brunette saw the cheerleader roll her eyes at the mention of her mother's concern, but the vampire couldn't help but think of how nice it was for Mrs. Fabray to worry. "Do not worry about it, Quinn. I'd hate to keep you from dinner. I will see you on Monday."

Quinn nodded in response and gave a small wave before she began walking in the direction of her house. At first Rachel was going to head home herself, but then the thought of that lone vampire popped into her mind. So, without further thought, she followed close behind the blonde in secret until she saw her enter her home. Things may be complicated for the vampire, but they didn't seem that horrible in that moment as long as the blonde was safe.


	10. Chapter 9

**_Author's Notes: Hey guys. I wasn't planning on having an author's note for this chapter, but people seem to be getting confused. Puck being upset is about the year before. He is talking in past tense about last year. It is the one year anniversary if you'd like to say of the day him and Quinn had sex. There is absolutely no chance of pregnant Quinn happening in this fic. She would not make that mistake twice. I hope this clears things up for you all. _**

_There were two large groups of people facing off against each other in front of Lima's City Council in the Town Square. That new chick Rachel Berry was in the center of one of the lines that appeared to be blocking off Lima from the other people. There were no other familiar faces besides the petite brunette. The atmosphere was eerie, and there wasn't a sound being made by anyone. It was if they were waiting to see who would make the first move._

_In the blink of an eye, the intruders were attacking. Berry was the first to lunge forward in a counter. Her midget ass was doing pretty well too, until a blonde woman walked forward. It was no secret that she was the leader of the intruders. Her minions all parted for her to get through. Before anyone could even react, she had Rachel off the ground by her neck. A guy who she didn't recognize quickly annihilated his target in an attempt to get to Rachel, but was stopped dead in his tracks by a piece of wood being lodged into his heart. A painful scream left the gremlin's throat at the sight, and she immediately tried to wiggle free. The woman holding her hostage just laughed at her futile attempts, and in one quick motion, shoved her hand into the brunette's chest. Rachel's eyes widened and a scream of agony was the only thing heard before her heart was ripped out. _

_The next thing that was seen was the town of Lima in shambles. Houses were set on fire, people were killed, and those that weren't were taken. The last thing she saw before jerking awake was the sight of Brittany being taken. _

Santana's body immediately sat up in her bed the moment her eyes were open. Her body was covered in a light sheer of sweat. The sensation caused her body to shiver. Air conditioning against sweat was never a good combination. She put her head in her hands and tried to catch her breath. It was the fifth time that she'd had the same dream. They started happening after she found that stupid book in the attic. No matter how many times she tried to make sense of it all, she came up blank. Not even Berry who was still on her shit list deserved what the raven haired girl had witnessed in her nightmare.

Her eyes moved to look at the small alarm clock on her nightstand. Santana groaned the moment that she saw the numbers 4:15 staring back at her. Whenever she woke up from one of those damn things she was never able to go back to sleep. Her body buzzed too much from a weird energy that coursed through it. There were so many things that weren't making sense, and all that kept running through her mind were her mother's words. At first Santana had thought her mother had finally lost it. Her being a witch was insane. First off, she was just too hot to rock the whole pointy hat and broom ensemble, and second, witches and all that bullshit written in those stupid books didn't exist. They were just made up so losers who didn't fit in anywhere could fantasize about a place where others made them seem normal.

Even though comments about stupid witches and damn Rachel Berry kept running through her mind, Santana got out of bed and changed into a pair of sweatpants and hoodie. It was four in the fucking morning, so caring about her appearance was the last thing on her mind. She just wanted to get some damn answers, and if her aunt was the only way for her to finally get some sleep, then so be it.

After looking up Natalia Lopez in the yellow pages to get her address, Santana was off towards Sidney, OH. The car ride just gave her more time to think about everything that was racing through her mind. She wondered if there was any chance of her nightmare coming true. No matter how many times she tried to tell herself to stop being a scared little pansy, she couldn't shake the vision. Her mind would just flash back to Brittany's scared face as those fucking nameless assholes took her away. Just thinking about it caused the cheerleader's grip to tighten on the steering wheel and foot to step down just a little harder on the gas pedal. She wanted to tell herself that she could just go all Lima Heights on anyone that tried to touch the people she lo… cared for, but she saw what that woman in her dreams did to Berry. Those people were something out of her league, and for some crazy ass reason, Santana thought that her loony aunt could help. She blamed the sleep deprivation.

Sooner rather than later, thanks to what she would call her 'efficient' driving, the cheerio was pulling into a small driveway. She sat in the car for a couple of minutes, but when she saw the living room light go on and a woman's figure through the curtains, it caused her to move. _At least I'm not waking her up, _she thought quickly as her finger pressed the doorbell.

It only took a few moments for a woman in her mid fifties to open the door. She was wearing a smile on her face and simply stepped aside to allow her niece to enter. "I was wondering how long it would take you to show up here," was all it took her to say for Santana to step through the threshold.

Back in Lima, it appeared as if Santana was not the only one that was going to be deprived of any sleep that evening. Rachel Berry found herself being woken up by her own doorbell being rung. At first she thought that if she just ignored it the incredibly inconsiderate person would just walk away, but when she heard the obnoxious ringing once again, she knew she would have no such luck. Out of sheer frustration, the vampire flipped the sheets off of herself and angrily stomped her way down the stairs.

When she got to the door, she ripped it open and was about to give the visitor a piece of her mind about appropriate times to stop by until she smelt it. Blood. Warm blood. Blood that wasn't out of a bag in her family's freezer, but actually from the veins of a human. Her fangs immediately protruded, but her years of experience allowed her to push her hunger down just enough to see what was happening. In front of her stood Noah Puckerman. At first she thought that he was wounded somehow and had no one to go to. Her mind immediately went to the vampire who had killed Azimo just three days prior. Just as she was going to ask him what happened, the boy took the towel off of the wound and thrust it towards Rachel.

A hiss escaped her mouth. The beast within her was pounding against it's change. It was not supposed to resist temptation like the one before her. Noah's words rang through her ears egging her on. "Come on! I know you like it! Get a taste of the Puckasaurus."

Just as Rachel was about to pounce, strong arms wrapped around her midsection and held her back. The brunette was no longer Rachel Berry in that moment; she was the monster. An older man who Puck remembered was Leroy Berry stood in between Puck and Rachel as a second defense in case Hiram could not control their daughter. Leroy turned towards the foolish boy and harshly told him to cover up his wound. If it wasn't for the rosemary that he knew the boy had been ingesting since his discovery of their family secret, the older vampire would've just compelled the boy to listen to their wishes.

It only took Hiram a couple of minutes to finally calm down his daughter enough so she could be carried into the kitchen. Once in the safe space, he fixed her a mug of blood in the microwave to help quench her thirst. Since the girl had not eaten for at least six hours, her body's reaction was much more severe than it normally would've been. Worry was etched all over his face as he watched the girl who had become his little sweet pea hungrily consume the contents of the ceramic glass. Every fiber in his being told him that tell that boy was a grave mistake, but he did not want to voice that opinion. His 'daughter' was nearly two hundred years old after all. She was more than capable of making her own decisions, and trust had always been a foundation of their make shift family, but that did not mean he couldn't worry.

Four glasses of blood later is what it took in order for Rachel to be able to approach her idiotic friend. He was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. Her eyes immediately went in search of his arm, and she was relieved to see that the wound was heavily wrapped. She figured her father Leroy must've patched it up for all of their comfort. Luckily, Sebastian was off again. Her brother had not told her much when he left except for saying that he was going to try and dig up some information. If he had been home, the situation could've been much worse.

"If it wasn't for the fact that I could easily break your cheek bone, I would be slapping you right now. What were you thinking? I seem to be surrounded by idiots because I find myself asking this question far too many times lately." Her chest was rising and falling rapidly due to her anger. She wanted to be calm and attempt to be understanding, but she couldn't. Anger seemed to be the only way she could show she cared lately.

Noah just shrugged and refused to meet her gaze. "Oh, so now you decide to be a coward? What happened to the brave man who showed up on a vampire's doorstep with a gushing wound?"

"I'm always going to be a fuck up on this day, alright?"

Rachel pinched her nose in frustration. She did not have the patience to deal with whatever young adult crisis the boy was going through, but it appeared she had no choice if she wanted to get answers. "What exactly are you talking about? What is so special about today?"

"A year ago today was the start of the biggest mistake of my life. Today was the day I went to the hottest girl in school's house with some wine coolers, and after one too many convinced her to have sex with me. I was so fucking stupid. She asked if I had protection! She fucking asked, but I didn't put on a rubber because I wanted to feel everything when I swiped the v card of the biggest prude in school. I never even thought about what could happen! I just thought that I could pull out, and everything would be cool. It had worked before."

The boy was full on screaming now, and the brunette was left stunned. Noah Puckerman always looked like a boy without a care in the world. He walked around with his bad boy attitude, and everyone just saw him as a delinquent who felt no remorse for the consequences of his actions. It was the perfect cover now that Rachel thought about it. That way he didn't have to face anything. "Noah, I am sure that you were a little less than sober yourself. While I may not condone your past actions, you obviously feel remorse for what happened. Why have you never spoken about it before?"

He stood up and began pacing. Everything was reaching it's boiling point within him, and the brunette couldn't fault him for it. She knew what it was like to hold such negative emotions inside for prolonged periods. "I would've looked like a jackass! Well, more of one than I already did. Quinn was the one who's life was falling apart, and I was untouched. My rep just got higher when people found out that I banged the president of the celibacy club, but she lost everything. So what if I lost my daughter? According to her and everyone else who got their big ass noses in it, I didn't have a say in shit! So, tell me Rachel? When was I supposed to sit down and cry about my fucking feelings? I wasn't even good enough to be called the dad. I was just the douchebag that knocked her up."

Before she could stop him, Noah punched the nearest wall. If it wasn't for the overwhelming seriousness of the situation, Rachel would've laughed. Not only were vampires causing damage to the house, but now humans were making dents too. "I'm sorry for everything, but I do not understand why that caused you to think that arriving at my house wounded would be a good idea."

Puck turned his back towards the wall and slouched against it. The emotion of it all was finally taking it's tool on the young man. "I wanted you to turn me. No one's ever been shy about telling me just what I'm going to become when I'm older. I'm not going to be anything but a Lima loser. These years are going to be the best ones, you know? Why not just freeze it here?"

The words reached her ears, but the vampire could not understand. She couldn't understand who would ask for her life. "You have no idea what you're asking for, Noah. This is not everything those ridiculous authors and directors make it out to be! I'm a monster that feeds off of the precious life of humans! Yes I have speed, strength, eternal good looks, and the ability to compel, but I'm alone Noah. Eventually, everyone you ever cared for dies, and you can do nothing but watch them go. I don't belong here, but I'm stuck here. I can never fall in love, have a family, or chase my dreams. It is obvious that you loved your daughter and wanted the chance to be a father. If I turned you, you would never get the opportunity to create life again. All you would be able to do is destroy it. "

Even though he was busy finding something in the floor board incredibly entertaining, Puckerman was listening to every word that she said. Never before had he felt so stupid. He didn't think about his ma or little sister, and how him dying would affect them. He was the man of that house, and without even thinking, he was about to walk out on them like his dad did to him. He shook his head and looked up into Rachel's eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't…. just sorry. Thanks for not killing me and all that."

Rachel rolled her eyes and didn't even trust her mouth to open and speak again. Instead she just nodded her head. Puck noticing the tension that was between them started heading towards the door. "I better go. I've tempted you enough with my sexy for one day."

There it was. The one ill timed joke that got the brunette to laugh against her wishes. As long as he could get the girl who was quickly becoming his best friend to be alright again, he could sheepishly go home. He would avoid the little spit fire for a good portion of school though. A cranky vampire was something he could do without especially because he was the cause of it.


	11. Chapter 10

When she walked through the double doors of McKinley, the students immediately parted like the red sea. It was shocking how easily things had fallen back into place. All it took was a summer of intense workouts and the uniform for things to go back to normal. Well, what looked like normal.

Even though the blonde had gotten everything back, nothing felt the same. She was back on top giving fake smiles and friendships to the people she knew she couldn't count on. Last year she was naïve enough to think the best of them, but they were only vultures. Vultures that waited and prayed o the ones they deemed less worthy. They picked her apart until the blonde was left with nothing. Quinn looked to her left and saw one of them flanking her. The term teammate made her scoff. The feeling of pride she thought would return only morphed into further disappointment with herself.

As the people parted and she walked further down the hall, hazel eyes looked onto Rachel at her locker. Without even uttering a word to the other girl, Quinn's cheeks lightly flared up thanks to a rather vivid dream she'd had the night before. The blonde had no idea how to feel about her friendship with the brunette. She was sure that she shouldn't be thinking about someone who was just a friend as often as she was. The blonde knew that friends didn't give each other sweet, thoughtful gifts and call her beautiful. She knew all of it, and yet, she still looked forward to when she would see the other girl. All she had to do was ignore all of the implications, and all went smoothly.

When the blonde reached her locker however, she got a gut full of what it all really meant. Just a few feet from her own locker was the brunette's, and right beside her was the one and only Noah Puckerman. "He wasn't there just a second ago," the blonde mumbled under her breath. Now her plan of going over there to wish Rachel a good morning was ruined because the last person she ever wanted to deal with was Puck.

For a reason that she wouldn't be able to rationalize if she tried, the cheerio stayed by her locker to discretely watch the duo. Internally she told herself that she was only doing it to test her new friend's loyalty; to see if she would even think of going after the father of her…of the baby. That logic flew out the window though the moment she saw the jock leaning against the lockers with his arms crossed and one of those damn smirks on his face. The smirks he wore whenever he was trying to get into a girl's pants which honestly was the only reason he spoke to girls. And Rachel, well she actually looked amused by what the idiot was saying. She was shaking her head while a small smile was forming on her face. Quinn simply stood there quietly fuming. The cheerio wanted to be the only one to make the brunette smile even though that sounded completely ridiculous.

Just in one moment Quinn was hit with an onslaught of emotions that ranged from anger, longing, and fear. Her stomach dropped and her mind raced. These feelings were exactly the ones she wanted to avoid. If they happened in her dreams at night she could chalk them up to some crazy subconscious she couldn't control, but having them right in the middle of the hallway was hard to run away from. The blonde couldn't help but think about how she had never felt the amount of jealousy she did in that moment with her ex boyfriend. In the past with Finn it was more out of being worried about what she got out of the relationship than actually being incredibly concerned about losing him. He was the quarterback and she was the head cheerleader. It was what was expected of her, so she did it. With Rachel, she didn't gain anything out of whatever it was, and it definitely wasn't expected of her, but it was already more intense than anything she'd felt before.

Luckily, the bell rang to snap her out of her musings. Thankful for the interruption, the blonde grabbed her history textbook, slammed her locker shut, and hurried off to her class. When she arrived, she exhaled a breath of relief and took her usual seat. That relief only lasted a few minutes however, when she saw Rachel Berry get dropped off to their class by Puck. Somehow her mind got flustered enough to forget that she actually shared the class with the petite brunette. Rachel must've felt the cheerleader's eyes on her because she immediately turned to Quinn and flashed a smile. Alright, so maybe the blonde noticed and internally gloated about how the smile she got was bigger than the one the girl gave Puckerman, but her jaw was clenched too tightly to give anything back.

Most of the class was a blur for the head cheerio. Between trying to keep her brain shut off and avoiding Rachel's worried glances, the blonde couldn't have said if they were learning about Marie Antoinette or Mario Kart. So, it wasn't surprising when Quinn nearly jumped when the very brunette she was avoiding appeared next to her desk. She saw the girl's lips moving, but didn't know what she was saying until the end of her sentence. "I'm sorry, what?"

Rachel giggled at the confused expression on Quinn's face before attempting to explain their assignment again. "I have been assigned as your partner for our upcoming project. We are supposed to give a presentation about the history of Lima. Apparently our small little town is rich in it. We have about ten minutes remaining in class to make plans and things of that sort."

It was official in the cheerleader's mind that Rachel's laugh was going to be what unraveled her. Well that or the girl's incredibly long legs. Someone was playing a cruel joke on her by pairing them together. What she needed to do was not focus on how Rachel's smile lit up her face or how being the recipient of them made her stomach do summersaults. "Alright. Well, my family has been in Lima for a long time, so I'm sure I'll find something." There, short and to the point. No pointless fluff that could lead to flirting.

The butterflies in the blonde's stomach immediately vanished when she saw the petite girl's brows scrunch in what could only be confusion. "I'm more than capable of pulling my own weight, Quinn. I believe that you will find that I am actually quite the perfect partner."

Partner. How a word that was supposed to mean nothing became one of such large significance was beyond her. It implied lover, girlfriend, significant other in a completely other context, but the blonde's mind immediately went there. It caused a panic to rise inside of her and for her eyes to dart around the classroom. She wondered if somehow people could just look at her and see the feelings she held for the girl across from her just under the surface. The scenario was completely plausible in her mind. After all, there were always those girl friends who could tell when a girl liked a guy just by watching them. Just thinking about it made Quinn's palms sweaty.

The bell was quickly becoming the cheerio's savior as it rang once again. At the sound, Quinn darted up from her seat and began to collect her belongings. "Yeah well, I'm pretty busy with practice and my mom wanting to do some mother daughter bonding stuff. I'll let you know." And with that, the blonde was gone in the sea of students yet again.

The rest of Quinn's classes went off without a hitch. She was able to actually focus in class without a rather adorable yet frustrating brunette in her class. It was nice to not have to worry about every move she made and look she received for about an hour and a half. That all came to a screeching halt when she was grabbed by the arm and pulled into an empty classroom at the start of her lunch period. "Berry, what are you doing? Let go of me!"

The now becoming infuriating brunette did not let go of the cheerleader until they were in the room, and she was standing in front of the exit. "Now that I have you where you can't go running off again, we're going to attempt to handle this as adults. What is wrong?"

Something about her tone of voice and words just only served to make the blonde more angry. Deep down she was sure that she was just easily irritable that day and was taking it out on the one person she shouldn't, but rational thinking was very far from her mind in that moment. The other girl just made it sound like she was so much older and more mature than she was, and that did not bode well for her already bad morning. "Are you honestly that self indulged, Berry? Not everything is about you. There is nothing wrong. I am just trying to get through my classes and cheerios practice. I have things to do besides having you follow me around like some new, lost puppy."

Every word that came out of her mouth was so wrong, but in that moment, Quinn didn't care. All she kept on seeing were images of Rachel and Puck together which apparently made her as angry as she was during her pregnancy when Mrs. Puckerman wouldn't just let her have even one strip of bacon. "Oh really? So, would you mind telling me when I became Berry to you instead of Rachel?"

_Why did she have to pay attention to everything, _Quinn thought as she put her hands on her hips. "Do you really have to keep pushing this? Just go back to laughing at whatever stupid thing comes out of Puck's mouth every five seconds and leave me alone."

When she saw a small smirk appear on Rachel's face, the blonde was about point five seconds away from wanting to slap it off. She had never met someone so infuriating in her life. Most people would never confront her the way the petite girl was because they knew the power Quinn held. When she was pissed, most of the student body knew to stay clear of her path in fear of receiving a slushie shower. The brunette before her though wasn't scared. No, instead she was worried, caring, and for some unknown reason smirking! "I thought you liked me, Quinn. What have I done to cause you to subject me to more time than necessary with Noah? I mean, yes he is one of my friends, but there is only so much talk about how, and I quote, hot the cheerios look in those skirts I can take."

Quinn wasn't dumb although for most of the morning she was definitely acting like she was by her behavior. She heard Rachel put an unnecessary emphasis on the word friend and without really saying it showing the blonde that she had no romantic interest in Puck. The words I do like you wanted to come out of her mouth, but suddenly her throat became very dry. Just four words made her body act as if she was in the middle of the Sahara. She was about to open her mouth to try and get some words to come out when Rachel started moving. The girl before her went inside her bag, grabbed a notebook, pen, and then started scribbling something on it.

The blonde was about to make some comment about how now was not the time to journal, when the brunette ripped out the page she was writing on and approached the blonde. Her tiny, soft hand grabbed her own, and Quinn couldn't help but notice how nice the contrasting skin tones looked when put together. The thought was pushed from her mind though by the girl's voice again. "Here is my number," she said as she put the piece of paper that she had folded at some point in the cheerio's hand. "Call me or text me so we can work on this project."

There was no room for argument in her words. It wasn't a command, but there wasn't any doubt in her voice that Quinn would contact her. There was an air of confidence about it that just pulled her in. With that, Rachel squeezed her hand one time before letting go, turning around, and walking out the door. Quinn's head looked up at the ceiling and took in a deep breath. By the end of the year she was certain that Rachel Berry was going to drive her completely crazy, but while she caught a small glimpse of the girl's posterior as she walked away, she couldn't find it within her to care _that_ much.


End file.
